Page 8 of Her Guarded Hero

He looked down at her thoughtfully. “No, I was imagining you a hundred and fifty years ago, riding bareback, in buckskins on the plains in Oklahoma. It was spectacular the way you were able to stay on Siren. You would have been an amazing huntress back in the day.”

Aurora felt her cheeks begin to heat. Sure, people had said that she was good at what she did before, but nobody had ever painted such a stirring picture. She cleared her throat. “Well anyway,” she said as she picked up her pace. “When he was twenty-two, Granddad bought the meadow and the big chunk of land surrounding it and thought he would farm it. He didn’t have the slightest idea what he was doing,” her chuckle turned into a pant.

“You doing okay?” Dalton asked as he put his hand under her elbow again.

“Sure,” she grinned up at him. Her head was beginning to throb, but it was only a couple of more miles to the road. Of course, it was all uphill, or so it seemed. She looked up. Maybe at the top of that rise Dalton could get a signal on his phone.

“Let’s take a break.”

“I’m fine.” Aurora gave him the same smile she gave new clients when they brought their horses to be boarded. When Dalton looked skeptical, she upped her smile’s wattage to one she used to reassure those people who brought in abused horses and were worried that she might not be up to handling such delicate and in some cases dangerous animals.

Dalton sighed. “Aurora, you just took a major fall. I would give the same consideration to most of my team members.”

She laughed, the word “bullshit,” coming out with a snort.

Dalton raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe not. Especially Hunter Diaz. I’d expect him to still be able to carry my ass up the hill after being bucked off a horse.” Dalton grabbed her hand and brought them both to a stop next to one of the tall trees. “Sit down next to me. I want to hear more about your grandfather and grandmother.”

“I call bullshit again,” Aurora smiled as she sat down next to him.

“Do you have cattle on your ranch?” he asked.

“Nope, just horses. Why do you want to know?”

“You seem to be obsessed with male cow feces,” Dalton answered. “I would have thought it would have been equine feces.”

Aurora chuckled. “I guess I don’t like thinking about horseshit since I spend so much time mucking out stalls.” She gratefully took the chocolate chip granola bar and Gatorade that he offered her.

It was weird having him watch her eat. He wasn’t overt about it, but he was definitely making sure she was getting in her calories and drinking fluids. It was the same way he insisted she rest. She wasn’t sure how to take it.

“Quit overthinking things and tell me more of your story. How did your grandparents get together?”

“To hear Grandma tell it, Granddad had more money than sense. He was asking all around for advice on what crops he should grow, not thinking to look around and realize that nobody was growing crops. Seriously, he was thinking the Lake Tahoe area was the same as the Central California breadbasket.” Aurora shook her head, remembering how Grandma Mae used to tell the story when they were making blackberry jam and apple butter.

“What are you thinking?” Dalton asked. “Your eyes are lighting up with memories.”

“I was thinking about Grandma and me in a hot kitchen putting up jars of preserves. We laughed for days doing that chore. She gave away half of what we made to people around the county. They’d come on over and everyone would tell stories and spread some of the sweet berry goodness on biscuits. She knew half the people in Placer and El Dorado counties.” She put her bar wrapper into the empty juice bottle and handed it to Dalton. “You ready to go?”

“Hold up. Just sit back and finish the story.”

“We’re burning daylight.”

“Horseshit. We’ve got plenty of time. Now lean against the tree and tell me more about this great love story. I’m fascinated by a woman’s perspective.”

Aurora gave him a long stare, but both his tone and expression were very kind, but she couldn’t help but think he was making fun. Oh, to hell with it, just ask!

“Dalton, how come I get the idea that you’re mocking me?”

Dalton jerked. “I wouldn’t make fun of you. I was serious.”

Dalton’s jaw tightened, then he blew out a stream of air.

“Why is it so important to you?”

“For my friends, I want something that lasts, something that makes them happy. I guess I want the dream, even if I don’t believe in it for me. I hear their women say they love them, and I…”

Aurora didn’t prompt him to say anything more. “Okay. You want a woman’s perspective. You want me to tell you that your friends won’t get hurt, is that it?”

He looked off in the distance and nodded. She was exactly right.